Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music, currently published by Hamburg based Bauer Media Group. It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper. Named after the onomatopoeic word that derives from the sound made when playing a power chord on a distorted electric guitar, Kerrang! was initially devoted to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the rise of hard rock acts. In the early 2000s it became the best-selling British music newspaper.
History
Kerrang! was founded in 1981. The magazine commenced publication on 6 June 1981 and was edited by Geoff Barton, initially as a one-time supplement in the Sounds newspaper, which focused on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal phenomenon and on the rise of other hard rock acts.Angus Young of AC/DC appeared on Kerrang!'s first cover. Launched as a monthly magazine, Kerrang! began to appear on a fortnightly basis later, and in 1987 it went weekly. The original owner was United Newspapers who then sold it to EMAP in 1991.
Kerrang! TV
Kerrang! TV is a digital television station owned by The Box Plus Network, which is loosely connected to the magazine, Kerrang!. As of 2005 all of its programme content is music videos, the majority of which is open-schedule so as to permit text requests from their playlist.
The TV station's playlist is mainly nu metal and pop punk/skate punk, although with some unusual exceptions. Certain acts such as Tenacious D and Limp Bizkit get higher-than-average play rates, due to higher rates of text requests. Themed 30-minute segments often cover artists who are on the playlist, with large numbers of videos, most noticeably Green Day, Panic! at the Disco, Paramore and You Me at Six.
The station unusually guarantees to play a requested video, unlike others where a voting system is in place. However, it may take some time for the video to be played.
It shares much of the ethos of its namesake magazine, although it will not go as far as to play unsigned acts or veer too far off music which is accepted by the mainstream. Heavy metal is least played, as death metal and black metal are very rarely played, although extreme metal act Cradle of Filth have appeared on late-night and even daytime Kerrang! TV from time to time. More mainstream rock acts are favoured. British and American music is most featured, European music is played rarely; although Rammstein (Germany) have featured weekly. Gothic metal and power metal are rarely played.
Kerrang Radio
Kerrang! Radio or Kerrang! 105.2 is a specialist rock music radio station broadcasting across London on DAB and The United Kingdom on both Freeview and various online platforms. It is owned and operated by Bauer Radio and forms part of Bauer's National portfolio of radio brands.
Until June 2013 the station was available on FM in the West Midlands, England. The station's format mixes modern & classic rock with speech programmes targeted at young people and an adult rock audience. The station is connected with the Kerrang! print magazine in name, ownership and style, although the radio station has a more mainstream adult rock output than the magazine, featuring more indie and alternative rock.
The night shows are very much fuelled by the traditional Kerrang! Magazine sound, with a wider and less mainstream style, playing a mix of punk and metal bands and forms part of the Bauer National network.
On 23 May 2013, Bauer Media announced that the output of DAB station Planet Rock would become available on FM in the West Midlands on the frequency used by Kerrang! Radio in Birmingham from 14 June 2013. All programming will come from London with the Birmingham studios closing and Kerrang! continuing in a different form on digital platforms. The station's digital footprint was not universal and omitted some areas of the UK.
